DISCLAIMER: THE POSTING OF STORIES, COMMENTARIES, REPORTS, DOCUMENTS AND LINKS (EMBEDDED OR OTHERWISE) ON THIS SITE DOES NOT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE, NECESSARILY EXPRESS OR SUGGEST ENDORSEMENT OR SUPPORT OF ANY OF SUCH POSTED MATERIAL OR PARTS THEREIN.

Pages

Monday, 30 January 2012

Further to our PREVIOUS POSTING where we published an open letter from Former Senior Investigating Officer of Jersey's Child Abuse Enquiry, Lenny Harper to the Home Affairs Minister Senator Ian Le Marquand.

Regular readers will not be surprised to learn that the Home Affairs Minister did not even acknowledge receipt of the e-mail let alone answer the questions it contained. This type of behaviour is not uncommon for the Minister who has form when it comes to "uncomfortable situations"

For those who listen to State Radio you would have heard Deputy Trevor Pitman, Friday just gone, (28th January 2012) being interviewed concerning his up-coming questions to the Home Affairs Minister. Despite attempts the State Media were unable to make contact with the Home Affairs Minister as they wanted him to be a participant on the radio programme also. For those who missed the interview it can be listened to HERE

This is in stark contrast to when the Home Affairs Minister received the discredited Wiltshire Report (prosecution case against Former Chief Police Officer Graham Power QPM). The Minister was all over the State Media telling anybody who would listen that in the Wiltshire Report there were "findings" against the Former Police Chief, when they were nothing of the sort. They were un-tested, un-proven "allegations" or "the prosecution case" against the Chief Police Officer. The Home Affairs Minister, in the words of the Former Police Chief, "Chickened out of a fair fight." The Minister abandoned the disciplinary action and published, broadcast, the prosecution case, and not a single word of Mr. Power's 62,000 word defence case. We called it a KANGAROO COURT.

So there was a "no show" from the Home affairs Minister when he had some uncomfortable questions to answer live on State Radio with Deputy Trevor Pitman. Regular readers will be aware that the Minister told us some time previously that he was going to reveal "A Scandal" he had concerning an Officer from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Homicide Working Group (HWG) who was mentoring, the then Senior Investigating Officer in the Child Abuse investigation Lenny Harper. He was going to deliver this "Scandal" in the island's Parliament but guess what? HE DIDN'T TURN UP!

So it appears fair to say that the Home Affairs Minister can be elusive when uncomfortable situations arise which brings us on to why we believe he could have been on/in the toilet on these occasions.

We had happenstance to be chatting with an acquaintance of the Former Police Chief Graham Power QPM. This person, relayed to us, a situation that was so comical and almost unbelievable that we had to verify it with Mr. Power for ourselves. We promptly did this and offer it to our readers as it was told to us by Mr. Power QPM.

"In early 2009 I prepared an application and affidavit for my suspension to be reviewed by the Royal Court. The Court told me that I had to serve a copy of the papers on the Minister. I did not think that it was appropriate for me to serve them personally. So my wife arranged to visit the Home Affairs Department offices and serve them on the Minister.

She made an appointment. She was shown in by staff. They went to the Ministers office but he was not there. They thought that was strange because he had been there when she knocked on the door and the appointment was in his diary. So she waited...............and she waited..................staff searched the building but the Minister could not be found.

He had not left the building so the only place he could be was in the toilet. So they waited..........And they waited. But the Minister remained locked in the toilet and showed no sign of coming out.

After it all became very embarrassing a member of the department agreed to accept service on the Minister's behalf..................... they apologised. And she left the building.............with the Minister still locked in the toilet.........................."(END)

The Home Affairs Minister will no doubt have his own version of this story. Unfortunately he won't acknowledge our e-mails either. So if anybody would like to ask him his version, if they can get him out of/off the toilet for long enough we would like to hear it.

This coming Tuesday the Minister has a number of "uncomfortable" questions to answer from back-bench politicians in the parliament. He is also up for "Questions Without Answers Notice"..............................Somebody had better start warming the seat up..............And he might be in there for a while!

Wednesday, 25 January 2012

This e-mail from former Senior Investigating Officer of Jersey's Child Abuse Investigation, Lenny Harper to the Home Affairs Minister, Senator Ian Le Marquand, is self explanatory and came about because of Mr. Harper's, Former Police Chief Mr Graham Power's, the Victims/Survivors of Jersey's Child Abuse atrocities and a couple of Bloggers determination to get to the truth behind the State Media's and government's spin and "official line."

We, as Bloggers, have ripped apart with documented facts and evidence all the spin and Tooth Fairy nonsense given to us by the State Media and government concerning the Child Abuse atrocities. This e-mail further adds to it..........And there is much more to come!

from Lenny Harper

to:

"i.lemarquand@gov.je"

cc:

voiceforchildrenvoiceforchildren ,

ricosorda ,

"ASibcy@jerseyeveningpost.com" ,

BenQueree ,

"chris.stone.01@bbc.co.uk" ,

"news@channel103.com" ,

"radiojersey@bbc.co.uk"

date:

24 January 2012 19:41

subject:

Revelations in Met Report to IPCC

Dear Mr Le Marquand;

I am unaware if you have read the latest blog from Rico Sorda, but in that he talks about the Met Interim and final reports which you, Andrew Lewis, and David Warcup regularly and frequently used as the reason and justification for suspending Graham Power and the savage smear campaign against myself in which you referred to me as an "incompetent maverick", and also, I presume, authorised the States of Jersey Police to tell Scotland Yard that I would be facing a discipline investigation over the Child Abuse Enquiry if I was still in the force.

Whilst I am grateful for your subsequent clarification that nothing in the decision to enter HDLG justified discipline considerations and that indeed Mick Gradwell would be the person facing serious discipline charges were he still in the force, the revelations contained in the Met report submitted to the Independent Complaints Commission (as a result of my complaint against the author of the Met reports), that in fact neither the Met Interim report nor the final report contained any critical or damning comments about myself or any other officer, raises series questions as to where you received the information that it did, and even more significantly, if it didn't come from the Met, where did it come from.

As for your own part in spreading the perception that the Met reports (interim and final) were indeed critical and damning of myself and Graham Power, I have been quoted in the blog posting as asking a number of questions concerning your role. I reproduce the relevant excerpt below and would ask that you give me the answer to the questions in respect of your role.

My complaint was rejected not because any of the criticisms were true, but because NO SUCH CRITICISMS HAD BEEN CONTAINED WITHIN THE MET REPORT. Paragraph 5.3 of the Sweeting Met report lists the complaints that I had made, i.e.; that the report was “critical and damning of me without ever speaking to me. That it had criticised me for my handling of the financial management of the investigation, my victim support policy, the lack of a Gold Group, the finding and labelling of human remains, my use of the term ‘shackles’ and the use of the term ‘cellars.’ In reality, according to the Met report to the IPCC, “having reviewed the report written by DSU Sweeting and his team, it is clear that no such criticisms are levelled at Mr Harper.” The report goes on to say in Para. 5.4, “The report was neither critical nor damning.”

The implications of this are profound, and extremely disturbing. David Warcup did not submit the Met report to the Home Affairs Minister but instead wrote him a letter outlining what was allegedly in the report. It was critical and damning enough to launch a brutal smear campaign against me, and by extension, against the victims, and to justify the suspension of Graham Power. According to Ian Le Marquand, what Warcup told him was in the Met report gave him no option but to suspend Graham and to label me an “incompetent maverick.”

So, if there was no such criticism in either the Met interim or the final report, where did David Warcup get it from? Rico Sorda has one theory involving the consultant shown the door by Graham Power for attempting to misrepresent the facts and who was then immediately engaged by Shredder Ogley and Frank Walker. So why did Warcup and Gradwell tell the world that it came from the Sweeting report? Could the gradual unfolding of this be the real reason why Warcup scampered away from the island pleading blog harassment and why the previously media loving Gradwell retired to wedding planning never to be seen again or to give any evidence to Scrutiny or anyone else?

It also raises huge questions about t Ian Le Marquand. Was he duped by Warcup into believing that the criticism was indeed contained within the Metropolitan Police Report? If so, why did he not ask some hard questions? Or, was he fully aware that the whole thing was a charade and a pack of lies intended to discredit the whole child abuse enquiry and so marginalise (once again) the victims of cruel abuse in Jersey’s government run homes?

As you can see, in the final paragraph of the excerpt, (immediately preceding this paragraph,) I pose three questions about yourself. Put simply, Mr Warcup did not send the Met report to the HA Minister. He summarised it in a letter. Were you indeed duped, or did you know the whole story about the so called critical Met interim report was a charade and a pack of lies?

I would appreciate answers to the questions above.

Lenny Harper. (END)

Readers will note that Jersey's State Media are copied into this e-mail. Mr. Harper has not received as much as an acknowledgement of it from the Home Affairs Minister Senator Ian Le Marquand, let alone had his questions answered. Questions are - will the State Media even report on this huge turn of events? Will they seek to get the answers from Ian Le Marquand that not only the victims/Survivors of Jersey's Child Abuse deserve but so do Mr. Harper, Mr. Power QPM, all the good officers that worked on the Child Abuse Enquiry under Mr. Power and Harper but the tax paying public who have paid for the smear campaign, witch-hunts and vendetta's against these people?

Tuesday, 24 January 2012

We offer this re-posting in conjunction with the posting of Rico Sorda where he has published the findings of "OPERATION TUMA."

Operation Tuma was an investigation conducted by the Metropolitan Police in response to a complaint made to them by Jersey's Former Deputy Chief Police Officer and Senior Investigating Officer of the Jersey Child Abuse Investigation (Operation Rectangle) Lenny Harper.

Former Chief Police Officer Graham Power QPM (DCO Harper's Boss) was suspended on very dubious circumstances during the ongoing "Operation Rectangle" and DCO Harper had already retired.

Below is a posting we published back in February 2010 and readers are advised to take note of what was said by Former Home Affairs Minister Andrew Lewis concerning "The Met Report."

Andrew Lewis Or CPO Graham Power

Below is a statement written by former Home Affairs Minister Andrew Lewis in response to Chief Police Officer Graham Power’s sworn affidavit.But below that is Chief Police Officer Power’s response to the former Home Affairs Minister. I believe it is fairly safe to say that one of these two gentlemen look way out of their depth and are being somewhat more than economical with the truth.It might be a slightly lengthy read but for those who take the 10-15 minutes out to read it you will be left with little doubt that somebody’s version of events just do not stack up.From Andrew Lewis.Response to P9 and allegations by Graham Power in his recently published AffidavitFebruary 2010Suspension of the States Of Jersey Chief of PoliceMy knowledge of this matter stems from my role as Home Affairs Minister. As such I am bound by the confidentiality requirements in the Chief Police Officer's disciplinary code. Although the decision to suspend the Chief of Police was my decision, at all times I sought legal advice and that of HR professionals and took this advice into account.

To the best of my knowledge the actual decisions were taken on the dates recorded in the correspondence. The earlier dates of creation simply reflect the preliminary work by the legal and HR advisers, which was contingency preparation in the event that the full disclosure of information by the Deputy Chief Officer might result in a decision to invoke the disciplinary code. This was sensible contingency planning. Up until the 11th February I was not aware of Mr Power’s Affidavit despite his claimthat he had sent it to me. Consequently I feel I have no alternative other than to make a brief and measured response to the allegations contained in the document.1. I have sympathy for the concerns that Mr Power has for his family but it must be pointed out that the reason that his daughter became aware of his plight whilst driving to work in Australia was because Mr Power, upon leaving the meeting with me and Mr Ogley at Cyril Le Marquand House, went directly to the BBC radio station to make a statement despite being advised not to do so. This story was immediately syndicated across the world.2. Mr Power also suggests that I should have discussed my actions with the previous Minister Senator Wendy Kinnard before carrying them out. In the context of the reasons for his suspension this would have been quite inappropriate as the Minister had handed over responsibility for oversight of the abuse inquiry many months before due a conflict of interest.

3. The act of suspension was fully in line with the disciplinary code and is designed as a neutral act in order to give the Chief Officer sufficient time to defend his position uncompromised by the constraints of office. The code has a clear process of appeal despite Mr Power’s allegations that such provision does not exist.4. Mr Power also claims that the code was rewritten hours before it was invoked, this is quite misleading. The nature of the code was not rewritten it was simply amended for use under the new ministerial government system, which involved replacing the word committee with that of minister. The same has applied to numerous documents right across the States since the inception of ministerial government5. Both Mr Power and Deputy Hill claim that the decision to suspend the Chief of Police was somehow rushed, “done on a whim with little consideration and without seeking advise”. I refute this suggestion most strongly. I had been aware for sometime of concerns about the command and control of the Child Abuse enquiry and in my capacity as Minister had been regularly briefed by the Deputy Chief Officer on the progress of an independent review of the case, being carried out by The Metropolitan Police.6. Mr Power had also been regularly briefed on the progress of the review in even more detail than I. He was also informed that the Deputy Chief Of Police was planning to brief Ministers on the 11thNovember on the findings of the review that were expected to be shocking. Despite this Mr Power decided to go on holiday. I questioned this with him but he claimed that there was nothing in the Met report to be concerned about. Subsequent revelations that are now well documented were of course quite the opposite.7. During my final meeting with Mr Power he was not asked to resign he never has been, it was an action that I did not wish to invoke because it was important that a thorough investigation of the allegations made in the Met review was undertaken before any further action was taken in respect of Mr Power’s position. Hence the suspension was an important neutral act. I am not at liberty to disclose the contents of the Met Report as I am bound by the disciplinary code. However I refute strongly the repeated suggestion by Mr Power that he does not know why he has been suspended, full details of the reasons are contained in the two page letter that was given to him at our meeting with him on the 12th November 2008.8. Mr Power also claims that the notes taken at the meeting on the 12thNovember which were later typed from Mr Ogley’s notes some how differed from Mr Power’s recollection of the meeting. The transcripts of the meeting were forwarded to me for my approval. I can categorically state that they were a true and accurate record of the meeting. Mr Power has never corresponded with me to the effect that they did not reflect the meeting.9. I am deeply concerned that the subsequent enquiry into this matter conducted by Wiltshire constabulary has taken so long. I was advised that such an investigation would only take until March 2009. The longer such matters are left the more open they are to wild allegations of conspiracy. Such allegations I most strongly refute. The reasons for suspension were compelling; the process was diligent, professional and painstakingly considered in accordance with the disciplinary code. I took full legal and HR advice from highly competent professionals and followed the prescribed procedure of the day.10. I had on a number of occasions publicly and privately extolled my respect and admiration for Mr Power as competent manager and Chief Police Officer. Which was why I was deeply shocked by the revelations and allegations presented by other competent independent policing authorities concerning Mr Powers command and control of Jerseys biggest ever criminal investigation.11. Such allegations must be and I am led to believe have now been thoroughly investigated. I now look forward to the publication of the Wiltshire Constabulary’s report, which I have fully cooperated with. If further enquires are proved necessary I would fully support and cooperate with such a process.Andrew Lewis-19th February 2010The following statement has been issued by Graham Power QPM. Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police. 22nd February 2010.Since my suspension in November 2008 I have complied with the confidentiality requirements of the disciplinary code. I have however always made it clear that if the code is breached by Ministers, or those acting on their behalf, I would not hesitate to respond.I have tonight seen the statement issued by the former Home Affairs Minister Andrew Lewis. In my view his statement constitutes a clear breach of the code and one to which I am entitled to respond. Accordingly I do so in the comments set out below. It may be noted that my comments relate entirely to the statements of Andrew Lewis. I have attempted not to stray into other areas in order to stay within the spirit of the code. I offer this compliance in spite of the totally unfair, unjust and disproportionate manner of my treatment. Andrew Lewis and his associates are assisted by the full wealth and power of the state. I have been refused legal assistance and in consequence I am required to defend myself with only the resources of myself, family and supporters. I do my own research and I type my own letters. I do not have expensive staff, civil servants, or legal advisors supporting my work. I have only the resources of a private individual. Nevertheless, I hope that the following comments will assist in the growing debate relating to the actions of Ministers and others in November 2008.I do not have the technical capability to insert my comments alongside those of Andrew Lewis. It may therefore be necessary for the reader to be in possession of the comments of the former Minister while reading my comments. If this causes difficulty I apologise. It is the best I can do with the resources available.Preamble.In the introduction to his recent statement Mr Lewis says “at all times I sought legal advice and that of HR professionals and took this advice into account.” In his statement to the disciplinary investigation by Wiltshire Police he says “Up until I received the letter from David WARCUP, I had no reason to believe that they were not managing the investigation well.” (Statement to Wiltshire Police paragraph 3.) In his statement to the disciplinary enquiry, the Chief Executive to the Council of Ministers, Bill Ogley states “On 11th November I received a letter from David WARCUP .......... I then wrote to Andrew Lewis that day.” (Statement to Wiltshire Police page 7.) It follows therefore that the evidential statements made by Mr Lewis and Mr Ogley claim that the letter which led to the suspension was received on 11th November 2008, and Mr Lewis states that until he received that letter “I had no reason to believe that they were not managing the investigation well.” On the evening of 11th November Andrew Lewis asked me to attend a meeting the following morning, and I was suspended on the morning of 12th November 2008. It follows therefore that if the statements of both Mr Lewis and Mr Ogley are true the “legal advice and that of HR professionals” must have taken place between 11th and 12th November 2008 which is a tight time frame and hard to reconcile with the claim that this advice was taken “at all times.” What we now know, from separate disclosures obtained in the face of strong opposition from the current Chief Minister, is that the suspension documents were in fact prepared early in the morning of Saturday 8th November 2008, a fact which is hard to reconcile with the previous statements made by Andrew Lewis, presumably with the advice and support of the legal and HR professional experts upon whom he relies. If such experts have in fact assisted Mr Lewis in preparing his statement, then they are inevitably associated with what he has said and done and they may therefore be compromised. This would appear to re-enforce the need for any review of these issues to be fully independent.The dates on which the suspension documents were created is referred to by Mr Lewis in his recent statement when he says “the earlier dates of creation simply reflect the preliminary work by the legal and HR advisors.” Given that under the Police Law and the Disciplinary Code it is the Minister for Home Affairs and nobody, literally nobody else, who has any jurisdiction whatsoever in relation to the Chief Officer of Police, we are entitled to ask on whose authority the Law Officers Department and “HR advisors” determined that on a Saturday morning in November 2008 it would be appropriate to draft suspension notices for the Chief Officer of the Islands Police Force. In his statement to Wiltshire Police the timeframe given by Mr Lewis indicates that it could not have been him. So who was it? Or is it possible that the truth is not being told?On a relatively minor point in the preamble Mr Lewis states “Until 11th February (2010) I was not aware of Mr Power’s affidavit despite his claim that he had sent it to me.” Just for the record, no such claim was made. It has been truthfully stated that the affidavit, sworn in January 2009, was sent to the Minister for Home Affairs. This was of course another person by that time. It rather appears that the legal and HR professionals who have apparently assisted Mr Lewis in preparing his release have let him down on this point of detail.I now turn to the numbered paragraphs in the recent release by Andrew Lewis:1. In this paragraph Mr Lewis attempts to blame me for the publicity regarding the suspension. During the suspension interview he made it clear that it had already been decided that he and the then Chief Minister (who had no lawful role in the matter whatsoever) would shortly be giving a press conference, the arrangements for which had been put in place the previous day, presumably in anticipation of the outcome of the suspension meeting on 12th. It is natural and understandable that in light of this information I should decide to ensure that my side of the story was given comparable coverage.2. Mr Lewis claims that any consultation with the previous Minister would have been a conflict of interest. He misses the point. The relevant period of the historic abuse enquiry was undertaken under the political oversight of another person who is not recorded as having expressed any formal concerns. In his actions of 12th November 2008 Mr Lewis was applying retrospective judgement in respect of actions which occurred prior to him assuming office. He was, in common parlance, moving the goalposts after the event. His failure to consult with the person who was actually in political office at the relevant time is a breach of the basic principles of fairness.3. Mr Lewis claims that the process he applied was in accordance with the disciplinary code and he appears to imply that it was in some way fair and “neutral.” This claim is made in spite of the strong criticism of his actions by the Royal Court. He does not address this criticism and appears to prefer to pretend that it does not exist. Contrary to his claim, the disciplinary code provides for no appeal against suspension. There is a right of appeal against the findings of a disciplinary hearing. No such hearing has yet occurred and none has been arranged.4. Lewis says “Mr Power also claims that the code was rewritten hours before it was invoked, this is quite misleading.” If this is genuinely misleading then I am quite happy to be led towards the truth. If it was re-written at an earlier time, who did this and who asked for it to be done? Could it by any chance be the same as yet unidentified person or persons who decided, apparently without any Ministerial authority, to spend a Saturday morning drafting suspension notices for the Chief Officer of Police on the off-chance that the Minister, who according to his statement to Wiltshire Police, “had no reason to believe that they were not managing the investigation well” might suddenly change his mind? Or was it intended that the Minister would have his mind changed for him? Without a proper enquiry we will never know.5. In his recent statement Mr Lewis says “I had been aware for some time of concerns about the command and control of the Child Abuse Enquiry.” In his formal statement to Wiltshire Police he states “Until I received the letter from David WARCUP, (on 11th November 2008 – the day before the suspension) I had no reason to believe that they were not managing the investigation well.” (Paragraph 3.) Is Mr Lewis now admitting that his statement to Wiltshire Police is not true? If it helps, it appears that prior to signing his statement to Wiltshire Police, Mr Lewis signed a declaration which among other things (such as page numbers and the like) states “This statement is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and I make it knowing that, if it is tendered in evidence, I shall be liable to prosecution if I have wilfully stated anything in it which I know to be false or do not believe to be true.” If the signed statement to Wiltshire Police is not true then it is a serious matter. On the face of it, his recent public statement, and the statement to Wiltshire cannot both be true. This is something which may require a more formal investigation. I will return to this issue later.6. Mr Lewis states that I was aware of the planned briefing to Ministers on 11th November 2008. This is just plain untrue. Pure and simple. This was planned and executed without my knowledge. If he claims that I was aware it might be useful for him to state who told me, and when. He then states “Despite this Mr Power chose to go on holiday.” This is almost a total reversal of the truth. Mr Lewis knows, or at least he should know, that my absence was not a “holiday.” I was attending to family welfare issues in the UK which had by that time been postponed for too long due to work commitments. The evidence indicates that far from my absence being some form of abdication of responsibility on my part, it was seized upon in a series of events which bear all of the characteristics of a planned coup d’ état. The first day of my leave was 7th November 2008. By the following morning persons unknown were preparing suspension notices and, on the evening of my return to the island I was told to attend a meeting the following morning. 7. Lewis states that I was not “asked to resign.” All parties agree on at least one thing. That is that at the start of the meeting I was asked to“consider my position.” I leave it to others to decide what is commonly understood to be meant by this statement. Interestingly Mr Lewis states “I am not at liberty to disclose the contents of the Met Report.” According to his statement to Wiltshire Police he could hardly do so given that he claims “I never saw the Metropolitan Review Document.” (Paragraph 14.) Again, it is hard to reconcile these two statements.8. In his recent statement Lewis refers to the typed notes which are alleged to be a true record of the disciplinary meeting and says “Mr Power has never corresponded with me to the effect that they did not reflect the meeting.” In a letter addressed to the Minister dated 1st December 2008 I begin “Dear Minister.” I then go on to list a number of issues. In paragraph 5 and 6 I refer to the alleged typed notes of the meeting and list areas of the notes which I consider to be untrue. On 5th December 2008 I received a reply which had been sent on the Ministers behalf. I have copies of both letters. The recent claim by Lewis that “Mr Power has never corresponded with me to the effect that they (the notes) did not reflect the meeting” is a further transparent falsehood and can be shown to be so.9. I am grateful for the comments of Andrew Lewis in this paragraph.He confirms that he and others were apparently misled as to the duration of the disciplinary enquiry, stating that he was told that it would be concluded by March 2009. It is now of course almost March 2010 and the matter is still outstanding. He does not say who misled him or speculate as to their motives. He says that he is “deeply concerned” about this issue. His concerns, if authentic, are appreciated. During this time he has of course been getting on with his life. I am the one who has been suspended until such time as there is no possibility of a return to work, and I have therefore effectively been dismissed. 10. In this paragraph Mr Lewis praises my professional virtues. He then says that he was shocked by the revelations presented by “competent independent policing authorities.” He does not say who these authorities were. Whoever they were they could not have been the Metropolitan Police whose report he “never saw.” (Witness statement paragraph 14.)11. Mr Lewis states that he will now “look forward to the publication of the Wiltshire Constabulary’s report.” In that respect he may be disappointed, given that Wiltshire have ruled their report to be confidential and stated that their report is exempt from any Freedom of Information laws on a number or grounds, including the claim that any disclosure would be “likely to prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and Jersey.”(Confidentiality rules. Wiltshire report.) I will of course abide by the confidentiality rules imposed by Wiltshire. Andrew Lewis apparently intends otherwise. In this paragraph Mr Lewis goes on to state that he would fully co-operate with any further enquiries which may be necessary. I am pleased to hear this in view of what I have to say below with regard to this issue.Personal Comment.Having concluded my comments on the recent release by Andrew Lewis, I now offer the following thoughts: Among all of the conflicting accounts and confusion a number of things appear to be evident. Nobody appears to dispute that important evidence, in the form of the original record of the suspension meeting was wilfully destroyed.There is evidence that suspension documents which bore the date 12th November 2008 and which claimed to be in response to information received the previous day, were, shall we say, deficient in authenticity.

There is an apparent conflict between things said in the legally admissible statement made by Andrew Lewis and the things which he is saying now. There might be an explanation for this, although none is immediately apparent.

In these circumstances I believe that there is a compelling case for a full independent investigation with intrusive legal powers, into the actions of Andrew Lewis and others on and around 12th November 2008 and that given the circumstances, a full criminal investigation, by an independent police force, may be appropriate. This is of course a matter for others to decide. Nevertheless, notwithstanding my effective dismissal from the police service, I remain fully committed to support any enquiry, criminal or otherwise, into the events of November 2008.(END)

Monday, 23 January 2012

As a direct result of our PREVIOUS POSTING we were contacted by, and subsequently have had a meeting with, "An Insider" of the States of Jersey Police Force.

The insider, (who is neither a supporter, nor a detractor of, the Former Chief Police Officer Graham Power QPM) contacted us after being a long time reader of the Blog and thought it would be beneficial to share with us (you the reader) a chain of thought/theory that exists from within the Police Force in Jersey.

Regular readers will be aware that Mr Power QPM was the Chief Police Officer who was suspended (possibly illegally) from duty in the middle of the biggest Child Abuse Investigation this island has ever seen. An act (the illegal(?) Suspension) that the Police Force, according to our insider, has still not recovered from and might take many years yet to recover from. Mr. Power's suspension and, subsequent events, were covered in-depth as part of an exclusive and possibly the most revealing interview ever conducted with the former Chief Officer published HERE.

Mr. Power was replaced by the discredited David Warcup, who according to our insider, united the force in one respect. Whether they (the Police Force/Civilian staff) were supporters of Graham Power, or not, the huge majority were not supporters of David Warcup, regular readers will have a good idea as to why this could be the case.

In our previous posting we published the answers given by the Home Affairs Minister, Senator Ian Le Marquand, to Deputy Trevor Pitman's questions regarding the cost, and outcomes, of a number of external police investigations the Home Affairs Minister is responsible for since November 2008 to date.

The answers the Home Affairs Minister gave, regarding the cost of these Investigations, are widely believed to be just a fraction of the true cost to the taxpayer, which is something we will be following up on in an up-coming Blog.

It was the "purpose" of these external (and other internal) Police Investigations that prompted our insider to contact us. The Investigations were into Jersey Police Officers allegedly involved in professional/criminal misconduct. Unsurprisingly, to some, (in the force) out of the four separate external Investigations not one of them brought a single successful criminal or disciplinary charge against any Officer.

We have also been told there were a number of Internal disciplinary enquiries initiated by David Warcup, under the leadership of Senator Ian Le Marquand.

Since Senator Ian Le Marquand has been in post as Home Affairs Minister, our insiders tells us, there has been some kind of a witch-hunt for those who show/have shown any support for the former Chief Police Officer Graham Power QPM.

Whatever the claimed intention of some of these investigations the real effect has been to isolate and put under stress a number of officers who are suspected of loyalty to the former Chief Officer with the consequence that a number have left the service rather than endure what they see as persecution by the regime led by Senator LeMarquand and the now departed David Warcup.

If what our Insider tells us is fact then, Senator Le Marquand's multi million pound witch hunt is only serving to divide and demoralise the States of Jersey Police Force. Forcing good cops to leave a career they intended would be for life.

For a number of those still left in the force, we were told, they live in the daily fear at work of showing any loyalty to the Former Police Chief incase word gets back to the Home Affairs Minister and they will be next in the firing line.

Of course we have no way of verifying what our source has told us although it has been substantiate by others either in or close to the force but we offer this posting as "A Theory" It will be up to readers to draw their own conclusions. We can verify that the source is genuine and is trustworthy in our opinion.

A question arises, once more, as to why our Insider hasn't taken these concerns to Jersey's State Media and we offer this as a reason WHY.

Friday, 20 January 2012

As a result of written questions asked by Deputy Trevor Pitman of the Home Affairs Minister, Senator Ian Le Marquand, we can see that under the Ministers leadership he has cost the Taxpayer in the region of £1m on at least four investigations into alleged police misconduct. Not one of these investigations have resulted in a single disciplinary charge against any Police Officer let alone a criminal charge.

It would appear that, in the Minister's answers (below), legal advice and Lawyers fees are not included which means the true cost of these investigations could be millions of pounds.

Millions of pounds, in these times of austerity, spent so ‘Words of Advice’ can be given. The most notorious of these investigations has got to be that of the Wiltshire Constabulary's bungled Investigation where Chief Constable Moore never did get back to us.

Regular readers will be aware that Senator Le Marquand released, to Jersey's State Media, parts of the Wiltshire Report (the Prosecution case against Former Chief Police Officer Graham Power QPM) but still has not released Mr. Power's statement to Wiltshire (the Defence Case). Naturally the State Media were only too happy to peddle it out to all and sundry. A disciplinary investigation that cost in the region of a million pounds (possibly lots more) that produced not a single disciplinary charge just like all the others that Senator Le Marquand has been responsible for.

BBC Jersey has been in possession of Mr. Power's statement to Wiltshire (defence case) for approximately FOUR MONTHS yet despite the fact that they have reported on the prosecution case, they've still not published/broadcast a single word of the defence. More about that in an up-coming Blog.

The questions and answers below beg the question "can the Jersey Taxpayer carry on paying for this multi million pound Minister?" Another question is "why have Jersey's State Media never challenged the Minister on his waste of Taxpayers money?"

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS BY DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 17th JANUARY 2012

Question

What investigations, if any, have taken place in respect of the allegations that States of Jersey Police officers acted illegally during the investigation of the case of Curtis Warren and others; and if there has been an investigation, what was the total cost and the outcome?

Answer

An independent operational review followed by a criminal and misconduct investigation has been conducted by Hampshire Constabulary in respect of this matter.

The Cost of the Investigation is £17,084.

Case considered by Law Officers’ Department – now the subject of consideration of internal discipline.

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS BY DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 17th JANUARY 2012

Question

Will the Minister provide details of how much money has been spent on external inquiries and reviews in respect of alleged disciplinary issues since November 2008 and how many police officers, if any, have been convicted of any criminal or disciplinary charges as a consequence?

Answer

The States of Jersey Police has engaged four UK Police Forces since November 2008 to conduct enquiries into alleged misconduct matters –

1. 2008 – Thames Valley Police

Investigation conducted at nil cost to the States of Jersey Police Travel costs of £690 met. No officer convicted of criminal or misconduct charges.

2. 2009/2010 – West Midlands Police

Internal Personnel matter Investigation conducted at nil cost to the States of Jersey Police Travel costs of approximately £1,800 met. One officer given ‘Words of Advice’.

3. 2009 – Warwickshire Police

Organisational complaint Investigation conducted at nil cost to the States of Jersey Police Travel and accommodation costs of approximately £1,200 met. Complaint Unsubstantiated.

4. 2011/2012 – Hampshire Constabulary

Operational Review; Criminal and Misconduct investigation Cost of Investigation £17,084. Case considered by Law Officers’ Department – now the subject of consideration of internal discipline.

Additionally, in November 2008 the Chief Minister’s Department engaged the Wiltshire Constabulary to investigate the management and supervision of the Historical Child Abuse Enquiry by the Chief Officer of Police. The cost of that investigation was £572,532.

In 2009, I commissioned a further investigation by the Wiltshire Constabulary (Operation Blast), which was completed at a cost of £301,088. 3 Police Officers and a civil servant were given ‘Words of Advice’.(END)

A word of advice (that won't cost millions of pounds) for Senator Le Marquand: Stop wasting time and money on what appears to be a personal vendetta against the Former Police Chief, give him, and the survivors of Jersey's Child Abuse, something that resembles justice and then resign.